The present disclosure relates to forming actuators for microelectromechanical systems.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have an electrical component, where an electrical signal actuates or is generated by actuation of an actuatable structure in the MEMS. A MEMS device typically has actuatable mechanical structures formed in a semiconductor substrate using conventional semiconductor processing techniques. The MEMS device can include a single structure or multiple structures. For example, in a microfluidic device, multiple fluidic chambers and actuators can be formed in a single MEMS device die. A MEMS device with multiple structures is described in U.S. Publication No. 2005-0099467.
In devices with multiple structures, such as multiple individual actuators and associated mechanical structures, it can be desirable for the actuators to have very uniform properties. That is, it is desirable for the actuator of each structure to have uniform properties when compared with the actuator of other structures across the device. Such uniformity can ensure that when the same signal is applied to each actuator, the same result is achieved at each mechanical structure.